SPRING PASTELS

Coat: here - c/o Laura Ashley. Earrings: here - c/o Laura Ashley. Bracelet: here - c/o Laura Ashley. Skirt: H&M. Shoes: Mango. Bag: here - c/o Aspinal.  - - -
Before you start - yes, the title is 'Spring Pastels'. Yes, I also know that it's not quite spring yet. Just let me bask in my delusions a little while longer and soon enough, spring will truly be upon us! When this beautiful candy coloured coat from Laura Ashley arrived at my door, my mind burst into a pastel themed kaleidoscope of the new wave of fashion, colours and styles that the change of season brings. Surely one can't quite get away with wearing pastels in January, but February... well in February, you're just enough on the cusp to get away with it. 
I wanted to keep the rest of the outfit monochrome in order to keep the focus on the parma violet hued coat. I think often when it comes to styling a statement coat or any coat of a particularly striking colour, the safest option is to keep everything else relatively simple. Alternatively, with this lilac coat, I might mix in a similarly toned lilac or purple via the shoes or another accessory. In this instance, I chose a delicate lace top to add interest but still not draw attention away from the main event, and to keep a foot in our seasonal reality winter, I chose this pleated faux leather skirt.
In terms of other accessories, I absolutely love the way silver looks against lilac, so I chose a pair of hammered silver drop earrings and a matching bracelet, also from Laura Ashley. The earrings and bracelet are such a bright, shiny silver that they really stand out - the earrings in particular, which means that even if I wear my hair down they'll still peek through!
I would also like to add that having worn this coat all day walking around Notting Hill in temperatures so cold that it snowed a little, it is exceptionally warm! Obviously my legs were cold but that's due to my poor decision to wear a micro-skirt on a day cold enough to snow... I just know that this piece is going to hang on my coat rail all throughout spring and even during the chillier summer months!  
Thank you to Laura Ashley for sponsoring this post. 

Autumnal outerwear

Magical Pocket Coat: here & Hammered Ring Drop Earrings: here. Both C/O Laura Ashley. Boots: here. Shirt: here.  - - - 
'Tis officially the season! And by that, no, I don't mean Christmas (although there's a concerning amount of Christmas themed decor popping up in the shops already...) I mean the season of rich, striking jewel tones - as I've always associated the A/W season with luxurious colours like ruby and emerald.
In addition to that, I feel like my style repertoire really expands with the reintroduction of coats come autumn, so you can imagine my joy when I spied this vibrant red number. Red is without a doubt one of my favourite colours to style and one of the most versatile, especially come autumn. I love mixing red with block colours like black, white, green, or even pink if I'm feeling brave enough for a deliberate clash, textures like faux fur and leather, and printed pieces too - checks or stripes are my favourites! As well as mixing patterns and textures, I also love mixing metals. It's something I've always done and thought nothing of, despite it being regarded as a stereotypical no-no. That's where these hammered ring drop earrings come in; two differently sized silver hoops held together by a single gold hoop. To me, mixing metals when it comes to jewellery only leaves you with more choice for other accessories, as you're not tied in to any hardware shade. Can't decide between your favourite silver hardware handbag and gold hardware belt? Wear both! 
This coat is one of those quite rare finds that I'd describe as; warm enough to be practical but elegant enough to be stylish. It's not a style VS. substance piece, it's very much both. Another little detail I just have to mention is that it has REAL POCKETS. Yes, you heard me right. REAL, quite sizeable pockets that you can put things in. Not a fake, deceptive 'I'm-not-really-a-pocket-I'm-just-a-weird-slit-in-the-fabric-made-to-look-like-a-pocket-but-I'm-actually-not-a-pocket' pocket. PRAISE BE.
So, I've told you that red is my favourite colour to style come A/W - I'd love to know yours. Please let me know below! - - - 
Thank you to Laura Ashley for sponsoring this blog post. 

Un-Coordinated Co-ords / Cobalt Blue Boucle Jacket

Shirt & Trousers : c/o Laura Ashley. Earrings : ZARA. Shoes : Matalan (!!) Jacket : ASOS. Atrocious posture when seated : stylists own.

Hello all!

Seeing as a large proportion of my bedroom is an homage to Laura Ashley interiors, I was rather excited when I was contacted by them asking if I'd style some of their fashion pieces.

I've been really excited to photograph the items I chose for a kind of fun 'back to school / college' look - perhaps minus the heels for the purpose of getting to lectures on time. I paired the shirt and trousers together because they create something in-between clashing prints and co-ords, both of which I love. Although it's the same print in the sense that the shapes are identical, the colours are reversed, so I picked out the red within the diamonds on the trousers with some similarly coloured shoes, topping it off with an almost obnoxiously blue boucle jacket and some standard OTT earrings.

On another note, this friday (so, tomorrow!) I'm curating and taking part in a Blogger Style Show at The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford for 'Dress Up! Live Friday at The Ashmolean'. As well as the show I'm organising (which will repeat 3 times throughout the night so you can't miss it!) there'll also be a runway show and an amazing couture-style exhibition with live fashion sketching, to name just a few of the highlights. Oh, and it's completely free to attend - so if any of you live in the Oxford area I would absolutely love to see some smiling faces tomorrow evening! You can see more about the event by clicking here.